Hi Donald-san, a couple of points The UK and France have different systems, economically. Naval Group in France is majority state-owned. It's alot easier to influence a supplier when you own it. Rightly or wrongly that's not our system. BAE was supposed to be building a frigate factory on the Clyde ...

Hopefully some of you can enlighten me. I was readying Navy lookouts article on the SDSR 2020, https://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/sdsr-2020-which-direction-for-the-royal-navy/ Where the article said "HMS Monmouth laid up in Devonport awaiting her life extension refit that would see her serve unt...

I frankly don't understand this whole rush light infantry to the Baltics scenario. Calais to Talinn is a greater distance than Odessa to Baku. Apparantly in Boxer and MRV(P) we will have a force which, under WW3 conditions, will surpass, in two days, all the accomplishments of Army Group South. The ...

Ajax wasn’t mature it is/was a hodgepodge of ASCOD, LM turret, CT40, GVA etc
As you say - to be built in a disused forklift factory by a new workforce! Sounds like a recipe for...

I’m not optimistic in the land domain at the moment, I just think T31 will do what it says on the tin.

[quote="Gabriele"][quote] After all, the list of possible alternatives to JLTV isn't so long: the Supacat HMT-derivative with enclosed cab if it can actually become more than a piece of paper, the Iveco Lince 2, the Thales HAWKEYE, maybe the GD Eagle 4x4. Foxhound, if it was ever possible ...

And coming soon to a theater near you: the Type 31 program, another program in exactly the same mold. Given to a company with zero experience in building military equipment (see Lockheed UK & tank turrets), to be built at a site with no facilities to build complex military hardware, with no wor...

Foxhound to me has always sounded too complex TBH - a monoblock engine a non steel chassis and four wheel steering. Reports of overheating problems in Astan, it seems more like a niche product for paras / SF.
Totally not convinced by JLTV though, yet another purchase without a contest.

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Well the RAF and RN have their major programmes pretty much locked in and under contract, so priority does need to go with the Army for the foreseeable future if it is to be able to contest a peer conflict. If not it will be relegated to fight "Bush" wars and even ten will probably strugg...

Thanks, makes sense

In a word yes range costs money if you are planning an a/c with low observable characteristics that has to be a fighter because your in for a big aircraft. The main requirement here will likely be range from a tanker there is potential for engine efficiency to help but you may need to trade off raw ...

Once again, there is no future fighter plane called Tempest being developed. Its a future technologies partnership called Team Tempest . That's all. * sigh * :roll: According to the RAF’s website Tempest will “join the fleet in 2035 and replace the capabilities provided by Typhoon” According to Leo...

But the carry over parts are the limiting factor. There is such a thing as physical wear and tear which is presumably why CR2 is being fleet-managed now. We will have 148 upgraded CR2s, tops. T-72 and M-1 were built in their thousands, I doubt there is a physical early-build M1 that is still in serv...

Well yes as CR2 is long out of production we don't have the option of increasing numbers either now or in the future, that's another mark against it. With a new turret, gun, drivetrain and electronics architecture I question the relevance of much of the current CR2 parts inventory. Sourcing spares f...

Don't want to be negative, but I feel this program is a huge mistake. "Competitive out to 2035" means that in practice the upgraded vehicle will be in service for a maximum of ten years, maybe less. The cost per unit is already comparable to buying a new platform off the shelf, which woul...

Don't want to be negative, but I feel this program is a huge mistake. "Competitive out to 2035" means that in practice the upgraded vehicle will be in service for a maximum of ten years, maybe less. The cost per unit is already comparable to buying a new platform off the shelf, which would...

Personally I think 50 million for a royal yacht is a bargain. It's an asset that will last 40 years minimum, and quite apart from trade it can showcase British maritime engineering. It would be a nice follow on project for Cammels after the RSS. Finance it with a loan secured against the asset and s...

You have a competition to get a good deal. The US had one. That's why JLTV is so cheap. The UK is getting them at the same price as the US army is getting them. Plus the cost of the unique UK bits of course. In the year since that Single source decision was made the price seems to have doubled Rumo...

There are some serious pitfalls with tendering. In all too many cases, the winner has bid below what the actual cost of a programme should be and then expects the MoD to bail them out as the real cost is revealed. Things may have changed these days, but in my time at the MoD we were not allowed to ...

reasons Luckily the US has other things to offer other that technology transfer, like actual defense. "Dear Japan, if you buy our jets, we will defend you with our biggest navy in the world ,our biggest air force in the world and our best equipped army in the world including our nuclear weapon...

A naval architect on one of these boards said that the length / hull depth ratio on T26 is already right at the limit and a stretch isn’t possible. Also there may be top weight issues with a top end radar mounted high, as t26s engines are mounted relatively high for ASW quietness I can’t find the po...

Luckily the US has other things to offer other that technology transfer, like actual defense. "Dear Japan, if you buy our jets, we will defend you with our biggest navy in the world ,our biggest air force in the world and our best equipped army in the world including our nuclear weapons, love ...

Personally I don’t think the T26 hull is going to be big enough for the t45 replacement, to be competitive in the 2030s we’ll need 96+ silos and power to support directed energy weapons. I understand the Italians are going 10000t plus, KDX3 is already over 10k at full load. There’s plenty of time, i...

I think you have a good point there, especially if the Integration was done in-house by the Danish Navy. There certainly couldn’t have been much featherbedding by OMT otherwise they’d still be in business.

But we’re not getting the price that Lithuania got. We’re paying £5m each for APCs. Warrior upgrade is a risk. It may or may not pay off, but I don’t think anyone here is in a position to say so yet. Pretending that you can recover money already spent and get a deal you have not got so far seems li...

What is also important to note is, however, to look into the escorts Naval group in French, Navantia in Spain, and Fincantierri in Italy designed and built AFTER the Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate was built. Apparently, they do not follow the cost reduction of Danish Danes, and still they are competi...